Ghostly Tours (Sweetfern Harbor Mystery Book 4)

by Wendy Meadows

  “I love salmon.” She tried not to gape when the salad course was set in front of her. It consisted of wilted kale with bacon and a poached egg. The dressing was blue cheese, a favorite. It was the presentation that caught her eye, the care and precision that went into the placement of each leaf and garnish. She waited until William reached for his salad fork so she could double-check that she knew which fork to use, too. They didn’t have long before the salmon dishes were then placed in front of them. “This all looks delicious,” Brenda gushed. “Do you know I had never eaten risotto before I moved here?” She looked with delight at the salmon filet plated on a delicate bed of creamy rice, with a savory mustard sauce drizzled on top.

  “Risotto is a trademark dish around here. Now let’s dig in.” William’s eyes twinkled.

  Brenda’s first taste more than agreed with her. “You have an excellent chef,” she said, closing her eyes in happiness.

  “To tell you the truth, I was lucky to find this new chef on short notice. My usual chef up and left with not even a good-bye about six weeks ago. Luke had been with me for a very long time. I’ve never figured out what caused him to just walk out on me like that.”

  “Do you have any idea where he went?”

  William shook his head. “The only thing I can think of is that he suddenly got an opportunity. For a long time, Luke talked about pursuing some prestigious culinary opportunity in New York. It must have come up rather quickly, but I still can’t understand why he didn’t let me know.”

  “That’s too bad. Well, whoever you have now sure knows what he or she is doing.” Brenda took another blissful bite of her salmon.

  “You’d never believe it, but my longtime chauffeur stepped into the chef role. He still insists on driving me, though. I had no idea he knew how to cook like this. I told him he’s been in the wrong business for a long time.”

  William laughed at his words. Brenda smiled. Her mind returned to the matter at hand. “Did you see anything or anyone unusual last night at the bed and breakfast?”

  “I was taking tickets at the door for most of the night. Every person I saw was in a jovial mood, no one stood out of the crowd. Everyone was excited that you opened for the candlelight tour after all – it was something new and unexpected. Once it quieted down a little, I looked for Phyllis, but she was on the first tour.”

  “Did you stay inside during the tours?”

  “I stayed in the foyer minding the ticket line until the body was discovered. I left one of your staff in charge of the door so no one would come rushing in, that’s when I was upstairs for a short while. I had to make an announcement to the tour guests about the cancelled evening. Not long after that I went back to the door and helped with handing out refunds for the night, and later I checked on your bed and breakfast guests. I’m so sorry you had such a fright last night. Do you plan to go ahead with the tours tonight?”

  Brenda opened her eyes wide. “I haven’t even thought about that. I’m not so sure the police would allow it.”

  William contemplated the idea briefly. “It would give them a chance to scrutinize your guests better. As you know, Mac is a firm believer in the power of undercover cops mingling in crowds.”

  “I don’t know, but I guess I’ll have to decide soon, so we can give everyone the word one way or another. What time did you leave last night?” She wanted to focus on details of the previous night before figuring out what would come of the upcoming tours.

  “I visited with Phyllis a few minutes at the end of the night until I knew she was calmer. I was told by Allie that my chauffeur was outside waiting for me. It had been a long night for everyone and I was ready to leave.”

  They continued their lunch in silence for a few minutes. Brenda forced herself to recall the events of the night she spent in the Captain’s Room. It had not been a nightmare. It had been a real event and a real person. The man was the murderer of the body found in that same bed the next night.

  “I heard you were the best tour guide of them all.” William’s voice brought her back to the present. “I know you probably don’t want to hear this, but I think you should do it again tonight and finish as planned tomorrow night, too. It will tell the town and the tourists that you intend to conduct business as usual.”

  “I don’t know about usual, but you do have a good point.” She looked at her host, grateful for his steady guidance. She was struck by a thought, and said, “Where is your chauffeur-turned-chef now? I’d like to talk with him for a few minutes. He was outside during the tour, so perhaps he observed someone suspicious.”

  William tapped a small bell to signal the kitchen. No one came through the doorway and he tapped it again. The butler came in from the hallway and asked if he could get them anything.

  “Where is Chef Thornton? We’d like to see him, please.”

  The butler nodded and left for the kitchen as William and Brenda ate the light dessert that had been served. But after another couple minutes, the butler returned to the dining room.

  “I cannot find Mr. Chambers anywhere, Sir,” the butler said. He explained that he had searched the whole house. “The only people in the kitchen are the two prep cooks and the dishwasher. The girl told me she saw him leave just before dessert was served.”

  William looked at Brenda questioningly. “I just wanted to thank him for the delicious meal,” Brenda lied. William shrugged and dismissed the butler, who gave a slight bow and left the room. While they were alone, Brenda reached for her purse and retrieved the sketch the police artist drew for her. “Take a close look at this drawing, William,” she said.

  William pulled his glasses from his shirt pocket and leaned toward the drawing. He drew back in alarm. “That looks like Thornton’s build, without a doubt.”

  “This is a sketch of the man who appeared at the foot of my bed in the Captain’s Room. It may be Thornton Chambers, but we can’t jump to any conclusions yet.” She folded the sketch and put it back into her purse. “I only had the moonlight so didn’t see specific features. I’ve never seen your chauffeur before, either, so I can’t make any comparisons. Do you know anyone else who is built like this?”

  “No one comes to mind right away, but I have no doubt that’s Thornton. He has a very slight stoop to the shoulders just like your drawing and his frame is very similar.” William looked sad and worried, with a crease appearing on his brow.

  Brenda strongly suspected William was correct and that the figure was Thornton Chambers. She couldn’t be certain, but his sudden absence seemed suspicious, too. She took her cell phone from her purse and called Mac Rivers. She told him everything that had just happened.

  “He is missing from William’s home, even though he was just here preparing three courses for our lunch. He can’t be too far away.”

  The detective briefly wondered why a chauffeur would be cooking for William but he had more important things to think about. By now, Mac knew his fiancée well enough to trust her judgment.

  “I’m at the coroner’s office right now, but I’ll phone the chief and get my men on the search. I’ll let you know if we pick him up.” Mac knew the sketch artist’s rendering from Brenda’s description had been copied several times and posted throughout the police office. They didn’t have much to go on. “We need an updated description of the man. Also, is he driving his own car or do you think he is in William’s?”

  “I don’t know but will find out and let you know.”

  A familiar excitement surged through Brenda. It felt good to have a lead and to be back doing something she loved: solving crimes. She and William hurried to his garage. The car William was usually chauffeured in was still parked in its spot, alongside a Mercedes William hadn’t driven in two years.

  “He must have left in his own car,” William said. He gave a brief description of the compact car and of the man himself, and she relayed both back to Mac, who dialed the police chief immediately.

  The detective gave the necessary orders to the chief. Just as he was
leaving the coroner’s office, the coroner pulled the sheet back from the dead body. “Wait a minute, Mac. This man looks familiar...but I just can’t place him.” Mac was pressed for time, and, his mind racing, called Brenda back.

  “Brenda, I need your help with one more thing. While I help with the manhunt, can you come down to the coroner’s office? He tells me the dead man looks familiar but he can’t place him. With all the comings and goings at the bed and breakfast I thought you might want to take a look and see if you know him. Especially since you discovered the mummy, you should probably see it now that it’s been unwrapped.”

  Brenda agreed, but was shaken. William looked at her with concern as she hung up the phone. “William, can you drive me to the coroner’s office? I’m not feeling so strong right now,” Brenda said, looking around in desperation. There was no place to sit down but William steadied her arm with a gentlemanly touch. Behind the sick feeling in her gut, she felt sure she already knew who the dead man was and she knew it was possible that only William could make a positive identification.

  “Of course, I’ll drive you, Brenda. The last thing you need is to faint again, my goodness.”

  William ushered her back into the dining room to sit down with a cup of tea while he got ready to drive her. As she waited, a young woman came to clear the table. She looked startled to see Brenda there.

  Brenda smiled at the girl. “I’m sorry to disturb you, I’m just waiting for William to return. Tell me, did you see Thornton during our lunch?”

  The girl looked to be approximately sixteen or seventeen years old. Her face flushed slightly and she didn’t look directly at Brenda. “I saw him dipping the walnut ice cream for you and Mr. Pendleton. He asked me to get the maple syrup and finish the plating and carry it up. That’s the last I saw him. I hope I didn’t put too much syrup on the ice cream.” Her eyes were hopeful.

  “The ice cream was wonderful, thank you. So that was the last time you saw him in the kitchen?” The girl nodded her head vigorously. “Did anyone see him leave?”

  “No. Sally saw him leave, I think. She was coming from the back pantry and saw him from that window. She asked us all where he was going. None of us knew, but he was in a hurry.”

  Brenda asked the girl to get Sally for her. When Sally came up, she wiped her hands on her apron and was all too ready to tell what she had observed, annoyed by the head chef’s sudden departure.

  “Did Thornton drive away in his car?”

  Sally shook her head no. “His car is still out there in the service lot, where we’re supposed to park. He left us with all the prep work for tomorrow’s lunch, too.” Sally looked disgusted. “Funny enough, he took off through the woods, you know that spot just before the ground starts to drop down to the harbor? I wondered where he was going so fast. I’d never seen him move like that before.”

  Brenda thanked the girls and excused herself to the spacious entry hall, where she sat on a plush bench. William came back downstairs and heard the last of her conversation as she called Mac to tell him Thornton Chambers’ escape route.

  “It’s been nearly an hour by now, but from what I get, he headed toward the harbor. We’re on our way to the coroner’s office now.”

  Things began to move fast. Brenda told William what she found out from his servants as they sped along the curving coastal backroads to avoid the gawking tourist traffic on Main Street.

  William spoke as he shifted gears in the Mercedes. “Thornton has no love for the water at all. I can’t imagine him getting away by boat.”

  “You read my mind, William. I thought maybe he had a boat waiting and is now out on the ocean, but it sounds like I’m wrong.”

  She called Mac again with the latest news. He told her he had officers on the way to that section of the harbor as well as combing through the hillside and the woods near the Pendleton home. Brenda ended the call and glanced quickly at William. She wondered if he had any idea what he was in for at the coroner’s office.

  When they finally pulled into the parking lot and went inside, at first William hung back when the door to the frigid examining room swung open. The body on the slab was covered with a sheet. Brenda paused and turned to him. “William, I may need your help with this part, too. Please?” With a hesitant nod, William stepped to Brenda’s side.

  They approached the draped figure and Brenda took a deep breath. She tried to ignore the ugly sharp instruments all around and the strange reek of disinfectant. She reached up and pulled the sheet down from the face. William stepped back, his face ashen.

  “Luke.” He stood, unable to move. “My old chef, Luke Michaels.” He looked up at Brenda and she returned his look with sympathy. There was nothing she could have done to prepare him for this moment. She had hoped she was wrong, too.

  William Pendleton gently took the sheet from Brenda and covered Luke’s face again, then turned and walked from the room. Brenda hurried to catch up with him. He stood at the window to the parking lot, looking out on the wind-swept pine trees at the edge of the property.

  “It’s all right, Brenda, I just need a moment. I think I’ll walk back home. I need some fresh air.” She expressed her condolences and pressed his hand once, and watched him step outside. Then she phoned Mac to tell him that her hunch had been born out.

  “We’ll need William down at the police station to give a statement. Where is he?”

  Brenda told him of William’s plan to walk home. “Can you give him an hour or so? I think this is all a bit of a shock to him to say the least.” Mac agreed to call William in an hour. The manhunt was ongoing, but Mac’s officers had it well under control, and Mac wanted to be there to personally take William’s statement.

  Brenda was waiting at the police station not much later that afternoon when William walked in. Brenda noticed he was much more composed than earlier. He went into the office of Chief Bob Ingram. Bryce Jones was there and Mac and Brenda joined them.

  “I haven’t had a chef for almost six weeks. I thought my prior chef, Luke, left with no notice.” William explained the backstory about Luke’s longstanding ambitions and sudden departure. “Thornton Chambers has been employed by me for a long time as my chauffeur. It turns out he is quite a chef, as I found out when he asked to fill in as cook. He really seemed to be in his element in the kitchen. I even told him he was in the wrong career!” He wiped his brow with the handkerchief he pulled from his pocket. “Do you think Thornton killed Luke?”

  Everyone, including William, did think that. Mac answered. “We have no evidence at this point. We’ll get to the bottom of it all.”

  They were interrupted when the clerk rang the Chief’s phone. When he hung up he told them there was important information from the lab results run by the coroner.

  “The coroner has determined the body was kept in a freezer for the past few weeks.” Chief Ingram looked at William. “Do you have any large freezers in your house?” William turned pale and nodded, and Brenda pictured the vast kitchen in the Pendleton home, and how many freezers his staff might need to support the big parties he liked to throw for his friends. “I’ll send officers to your house to take a look right away.”

  William nodded agreement. He asked permission to call his butler to let him know that the police were coming, and the chief nodded sympathetically. Before he left the room, he said to Brenda, “I was the one who told Thornton stories about the murders in your inn. I told him that the place was haunted. I only did that to embellish our conversations. Frankly, I don’t believe in such things. I feel sick that Thornton used the stories I told him to terrorize you and your guests. For that, I’m deeply sorry, Brenda.”

  She assured him that she knew it was all harmless on his part. William excused himself to make his phone call in the hall. After he left, Brenda voiced her own suspicions.

  “If Thornton Chambers was quick to offer to cook, perhaps it was because he wanted to make sure he was the only one with access to a certain freezer. It was probably locked.”

&nb
sp; “We have our work cut out for us,” Mac said. “First, we need to find Thornton Chambers. Right now, he is a suspect, and innocent until proven otherwise.” They all thought grimly about the ongoing manhunt and hoped that soon evidence would turn up pointing to the man’s guilt.

  On her way home, Brenda decided the candlelight tours must go on. It would be cathartic for both her and for William, and a bit of normalcy after the excitement of the afternoon. She was sure she couldn’t bring herself to be one of the guides, but after clearing her head all day away from the bed and breakfast, she was ready to resume activities as planned.

  Mac and the chief reluctantly agreed to the continuation of the tours but the Captain’s Room was still off limits, as well as the room that joined it from the narrow passageway. That was all fine with Brenda. Her employees were happy to hear her news, too, especially Allie.

  As they prepared for the evening ahead, Brenda cautioned them to stick with the scripts. As for the room where Ellen Teague was murdered and the dead body found last night, it could be pointed out, but no one was to go into the room. Allie nodded her head three times to assure Brenda she would comply. Phyllis was the only one skeptical about the whole idea but at the same time, she wanted the tours to go forward. Finally, Brenda called William and asked him if, despite the day’s happenings, he would be willing to come and support Phyllis. He readily agreed. Above all, everyone was relieved that the plans were going forward.

  Brenda pulled Phyllis aside when the staff dispersed. “I’m going to throw a big Halloween party when our last tour is done tomorrow night. It will be just for the employees. Of course, families can be invited. I’m going to meet with chef Morgan and get the plans going early so she can celebrate with us, too.”

  Phyllis agreed. “William will feel so much better if we can celebrate a little. I’m glad you are going forward with things, Brenda.”

  “He might not remember this, but it was William’s advice that convinced me to do it.” Brenda thought back to his words during their lunch and all that had happened afterward.